Thousands of flights were cancelled and New York’s largest airport suspended operations as a major winter storm blanketed cities from Boston to Washington DC and a state of emergency was declared in New York and New Jersey.

The storm, named Hercules, dropped ten inches of snow on New York City and more than double that quantity in parts of Massachusetts.

John F Kennedy Airport was closed for several hours due to poor visibility and high winds and over four thousand flights had been cancelled at east coast airports as the morning rush hour began.